Thursday, February 14

Loss, Break, Change

Unable to convince Jerry Sloan prior to the game of the wisdom of resting his five starters, the Sonics wound up falling to the Jazz last night at the Key, before an announced crowd of about 10,000.

The loss, as you are well aware, leads us into the all-star break, and gives the Sonics a chance to pause alongside the calamity that is the 2007-08 season and take a breath. Percy Allen, at the Times, gives insight into the changes that may be headed our way:

Coach P.J. Carlesimo intends to use the second half of the season to evaluate players such as C Robert Swift, C Johan Petro, G Luke Ridnour, swingman Delonte West and Gelebale at the expense of others, including starters.

So there you go. If you have Earl Watson on your fantasy league, perhaps this might be a good time to sell high. If you're utilizing Kurt Thomas to boost your rebound totals, well, maybe you ought to think about doing the same.

The obvious conclusion to be drawn from the expected changes are this: If the Sonics are one of the worst teams in basketball when they give their best players the most minutes, to what unforeseen levels will they sink when they start playing the guys who aren't as good? Do we need to get James Cameron involved in documenting the second half of the season?